Three Long Days
by The Smart One 64
Summary: It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. A three day trip to Poshley Heights with friends. But one passenger would make this journey something to remember, by holding them hostage along the way. Can they make it to their destination safely?
1. Off the Gangway, Into Harm's Way

**A:N: Alright! My first FanFiction, and I feel confident! Read the first chapter, tell me what you think, and please don't flame!**

**Disclaimer: Mario and all aspects of this story belong to Nintendo.**

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Dear Mario,

_I was wondering if you would be willing to join me on a trip to Poshley Heights next week. You can bring any friends you'd like. I cannot wait to see you in Rogueport!_

_Yours truly,_

_Princess Toadstool_

Peach

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An anchor let down at Rogueport Harbor. Mario walked down the gangway and looked around.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW! OW! Dude, seriously! Cut it out! Cut it CUT IT!"

"Man, this guy got nothin'! Where's all da bucks?"

"I dunno, but lez scram!"

The two Bandits ran off toward the East Side, leaving the injured Goomba helpless on the side of the road.

"I knew I didn't like this place," Mario stated.

Meanwhile, Luigi was struggling down the gangway, adding his share to the sea with every step he took. Mario couldn't help from laughing at least a little.

"Bro...broOULGH! Are...are we there yet?"

Mario grinned. "Yep, welcome to Rogueport!"

"Oh thank God!" Luigi sputtered, as he hurled into ocean yet again. A middle-aged Noki passenger immediately ran by the scene.

"That...was the worst...boat ride...I've ever been on! Why'd it have to rain two days straight! And that clam chowder soup...last night did NOT go down well!"

"Don't worry, Luigi. You'll like the menu on the Excess Express. Chef Shimi's special is La Clam Chowdere." Luigi gives him the death glare.

"Okay! We'll buy dinner before we board then!" Mario promised, though inside he honestly just wanted to get on the train. Waitress, Shimi, the Conductors...good memories. Aah, when the Smorbs invaded...when he was accused of thievery by Pennington. Oh, I hope he's not on the train. That'll be a nightmare! Maybe Ghost T. is still...

"Mario?"

Mario snapped out his flashback and turned to see who said his name.

"Princess!"

Mario embraced the Mushroom princess warmly, glad to see her here and out of harms way.

"I'm so glad you came..." Peach went on, noting Luigi in the fetal at the edge of the dock. "Is...your brother all right?"

"Clam chowder..." Mario mentioned, ignoring Luigi's constant sound effects in the background.

"Well, our tickets say the train leaves at noon, and we need to be boarded by eleven thirty. It's 11:16 right now, so..."

"YOUR HIGHNESS! We simply must be going now! You cannot be late!" An elderly Toad with a brown-spotted cap strutted slowly over to where they were.

"Oh, hello master Mar-HUR! HACK, HAUK, Wheeze!" Toadsworth went into a fit of coughing. Ignoring her steward, and unfortunate escort, Peach resumed.

"Yoshi I believe has already boarded. Daisy was on her way to the train station and..."

Luigi jumped up. "Daisy? The train station? See ya!" He sprinted off in a random direction, putting his "print" on the sidewalk as he disappeared into the gate to the East Side.

"WRONG WAY!" Mario called out after him.

Luigi reappeared running away from an angry Doogan who...all Mario could do was shake his head. He'd have to tell Luigi to get food from the shop in the dining car.

"Um, is Luigi always..."

"Nah. You should live with the guy. All he can think about, talk about, dream about is Daisy. If only he could have some luck for once!"

Toadsworth returned from his coughing fit. "Princess! We simply MUST be going! We are going to miss the train, let's go!" He kept beckoning them with his cane toward where the station was.

"Right, right. We don't want to vacation here in Rogueport, now do we?"

"YO! Get ya stinkin' hands OFF a my whiskey!"

A violent scene occurs outside of Podley's Inn as a drunk Koopa madly grabs for the bottle the Mowz has in his left hand. He takes out his Swiss Army Knife, but the trio wouldn't know. They were out of there in a jiffy. Trust me. There are security cameras from outside Plenn T.'s item shop to prove it.

"Like I said. We don't want to vacation in Rogueport!" the princess sputters between breaths.

"ALL ABOARD!"

Toadsworth ushered once more for that it was time to go. Mario and Peach handed him their tickets and went up the steps of the most luxurious engine in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario couldn't wait to see the gang. Poshley Heights was going to great.

If only he knew what one of the passengers was going to do.

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A:N: Ooh, what's going to happen next? Just what will result at the end of this train ride? I know, this chapter was short, but I plan on a longer update soon!


	2. Passengers Aboard

**A.N: Chapter 2 is up! In this chapter, you'll find out who exactly is on the Excess Express.**

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Mario could not believe his eyes. Ever since taking the Excess Express to get the crystal star in Poshley Heights, there had been some serious remodeling. The colors of this car were purple and brown, and the one over had a red and brown wallpaper. That's when he realized that the train had become so popular, that they had to add a few extra cars. Mario looked at his ticket. _13_. It was the last one over in this car. The luggage caboose was right behind him. Luigi probably didn't know which room they were in, so he went to look for him. It wasn't hard though; he could hear heavy high-pitched breathing

Luigi was in the corner, hyperventilating from lack of breath. He'd been lucky that the Doogan who had chased him earlier did not have a ticket, and couldn't get on the train. Of course, sticking his tongue out at him was probably not a smart idea.

"Dumb...idea...hee, hoo, hee, hoo!"

Mario tried his best to calm him down. He knew one thing that would do the trick.

"Hey, I just saw Daisy over th..."

"Where? Get out of this Luigi! You look like a wimp!" He started slapping himself on his cheek, forcing Mario to step in and help him.

"Um, Luigi?"

"Daisy!"

Luigi immediately got up. He saw the tomboy princess standing in front of him. His cheeks turned red as his heels left the ground. He rubbed the back of head, but stopped because that was, um, uncool. Keep it casual, casual...

"It's so good to see you! So, what have you been up to lately?" Daisy asked.

"Oh, I've been busy. Joined a gym, been working out..." Luigi blatantly lied as he leaned on a concessions cart. "Just the usual. I also was in a puppy commerc-WHOA!"

He apparently leaned too hard on the cart, for it rolled away and ran into the same Noki women at the docks. She immediately disappeared into the next room over.

"Um, I was meaning to do that! Yeah, I can take a hit, um..." Luigi trailed on, now staring at the ceiling.

Daisy grinned. "Still the same green-capped plumber as always." Luigi looked embarrassed. "No, that's a good thing! I'll see you around! I'm in room _9_." She gave him a wink that almost made Luigi fall to the ground even harder.

"MAN! I always blow it whenever I'm around her!" he groaned.

"Don't worry, bro! You'll knock her dead someday!" Luigi looked at Mario concerned and confused as to why he could say such about Daisy.

"...it's an expression that means you'll win her heart! Man, you never watch the good shows!"

Luigi sighed. "Oh, well, I guess I'll go unpack. See you later..." he said as he disappeared into room _13_. Mario would have to find a way to cheer him up later.

Peach and Toadsworth had left, so he was one of the only ones in the car, except for the conductor who took his hat off at him. He waved back.

"ALL ABOARD!"

"Wait! Don't leave yet! I have my ticket! Stop, STOP!"

The poor passenger missed the train as it started on its voyage. Looks like he'll be spending the week in Rogueport...

Mario decided to go see where all of his friends were. Yoshi was probably in the dining car with a fruit basket, no, _two _fruit baskets. He didn't know who else had decided to come either, so he poked his head into room _12_. He'd never make that mistake again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! What is with you people!"

Mario slammed the door shut. If only he knew that the Noki woman was changing her outfit right that second. Ugh...

Room _11_ was empty at the moment, but he knew who occupied it when he saw the broken pineapple on the floor.

He wandered to the next car over, which only had two rooms. _9 _already belonged to Daisy, so he went to room _10_.

"Mario?"

The voice came from a familiar blue-shelled Koopa who was sitting next to a pink Bob-omb.

"Kooper? Bombette?"

"How have you been! It's so nice to see you!" Bombette exclaimed. She was so excited she almost caused a bomb to go off in the room.

"You taking a trip to Poshley Heights too?" Kooper asked.

"Yes, actually. The princess invited me for a nice vacation in Poshley Heights." Mario explained.

"The princess is on board? Mario, how could you leave her! She could be getting kidnapped right now!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Everyone immediately jumped up. Mario sat back down though. Luigi must have journeyed too far into room _12._

"Well..." Bombette continued, "Kooper and I are just taking a trip to see some of his family." She leaned over toward Kooper, who planted a kiss on her cheek.

Mario looked surprised. "Oh, are you two dating now?"

"Actually, we're engaged!" Kooper informed as he showed the ring Bombette was wearing. "After our adventure, we looked at each other and something clicked. We were more than just neighbors. There was a fiery passion between us."

"Aaaaaah!" Bombette clustered together as she hugged her fiancée. Mario tried hard not to show his repulsive expression.

"We're getting married in three weeks! Poshley Heights seemed like the perfect place to say I do!" Bombette went on. "Oh, would you like to come to the wedding? We would have invited you, but we didn't know if you were on some big adventure..."

_Yeah, some big adventure,_ Mario thought. "I'll see if I can make it out there."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Bombette exclaimed. Kooper smiled. "I'm as happy right now as I was when my strawberry muffin said she would marry me!"

"Oh, stop it, blueberry pie! I'm blushing!" Bombette giggled. Mario's expression now showed through.

"I just know our life together will be perfect! MarryMore is the perfect place to honeymoon!"

"Aw, you're taking me to the most romantic place in the world! I'm the luckiest gal in the universe!" Bombette grabbed Kooper's tie and pulled him toward her as he brought...

"Well, I have to go now. Busy schedule! I'll see you around!" He got up and left, slamming the door as he went. From the outside he could start to hear moaning and smooching. Moving on...

The dining car had tons of traffic. From the kitchen he could see steam rising. The aroma was delicious and tempting. Chef Shimi was the best.

There were now more tables, and Waitress now had a Waiter. She cleared one of the tables, and winked at her partner in the process. He finished taking an order, and gave her a flirtatious kick. Mario winced.

The shop now had more things for sale. However, all of the items were now more expensive. The economy must have an effect on all of this.

Mario decided to buy two Super Shrooms, a Honey Syrup, and a Fright Jar. Maybe he could play a prank on Luigi. Then again, he'd be accused of murdering his brother.

As expected, Yoshi was there, digging into a melon parfait and a peach cobbler. It wasn't bad for him. He always burned off all those carbs.

"Hey Yoshi!"

"Oh, hi Mario! I was just...making sure this isn't poisonous. You know, so that Chef Shimi isn't killing anyone with his food. So I'm testing all of his, um, delicacies! Just, you know, making sure..."

Mario grinned. "It's okay. I'm not judging you like you might be judging Shimi's food."

Yoshi sank in his chair. "I'm not judging his food! This is delicious! Yo Chef! Give my friend here some of that famous Pasta Mayo!"

Chef Shimi turned around. "Pasta Mayo? I shall prepare it in waste! GAH, I mean HASTE!"

"Here, I'll come back for it. Right now I'm checking out the train."

"Okay! See ya!"

Mario left with the image of Yoshi's face covered in pie. Same old Yoshi.

Peach was in room _7_ along with Toadette. Next door in room _8_ was Toadsworth and Toad. Room _6_ was occupied by a Goomba couple who had a little Goomba girl.

In the next compartment over contained the room he had stayed in years ago. Now, three brothers who were also famous fighters, Hamma, Bamma, and Flare, were in there.

"Yo, yo, YO! The Great Gonzales!" Bamma exclaimed.

"Well, look who shows up! Possibly one of the greatest legends the Glitz Pit has ever seen, who's a QUITTER!" Hamma accused.

"What? I was busy saving the Kingdom..."

"Saving the kingdom, my hammer! YOU QUIT! That makes you a quitter!"

In the background, Flare was looking outside the window, coughing fireballs right and left.

"Heartburn," Bamma explained.

"So, how are things in Glitzville?" Mario asked.

"Oh, things are fine. We moved up to Rank 2. Rawk Hawk is still at 1 though, but we'll beat him. And that Yoshi kid is the defending champion, you know, the Great Gonzales Jr.!"

"His name is Icy Jr. actually," Mario informed.

"Icy Jr., my hammer!" Hamma yelled again.

"Cool it bro! You're talking to a fighting legend here!" Bamma scolded.

"Fighting legend, my hammer!"

"Shut up! Dude, give the Great Gonzales some respect!"

"Great Gonzales, my hammer!"

"What's your beef, man! Don't yell at the guy! This trip is supposed to be a fun break!"

Mario had already left by this time, but from outside he could still hear them arguing.

"Fun break, my hammer!"

Room _4_ was still empty like it always was. Mario, however, hid behind the bed. Soon, a ghost-like figure appeared.

"Hey Ghost T."

"Hey, long time no see!" Ghost T. replied. "How've you been!"

"Fine. Taking a well-deserved vacation. You?"

"Fine, fine. Still haunting the passengers in this room. Why, you wouldn't believe how this one Birdo did! She kept throwing everything at me, and it went right through me! High heels, lampshades, phone books. Poor girl had a heart attack. Never seen her on this train again, that's for sure!"

Mario shook his head. "They ought to at least warn passengers about you being in here!"

"Actually, the conductors don't even know! They've never discovered me!"

"Well, let's hope they don't then!" Mario concluded as he left the room. "I'll see you around then!"

After he left, he was stopped by Toadsworth.

"Master Mario! Just whom were you speaking with?"

"Oh, no one...actually, he's right inside, if you want to talk to him." Mario knew this would ACTUALLY give the poor guy a heart attack, but serves him right for actually wanting to go inside and see for himself.

Mario could not believe the sight in Room _3_. The same obese Toad was still stuck in there ever since five years before. He'd probably gained _at least_ a hundred pounds, and was now stuck on the bed. Mario quickly left. Something that huge is too scary to face.

The last two rooms were taken by some familiar faces. Donkey Kong and Dixie Kong were in Room _2_. After a nice quick chat with them, he entered Room _1_. Inside were Flurrie and Doopliss. Mario didn't know whether or not to be happy about this. They apparently were on their way to Poshley Heights on business to film a movie called "Sanctum's Love".

Mario was growing tired of wandering about, so he decided to go retire in his cabin. That's when he ran into someone he had hoped was not on the train.

"Why, hello young chap! Haven't seen you since our last trip a few years back!"

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A.N: Ooh! Just who is this stranger? Find out next chapter!


	3. Him

**A.N.: WOW. I updated. For once. Actually. Totally. Completely. Yeah. Sorry, I'll try to work on this a bit more often in the future. I'm an ultra mega busy writer. Sorry.**

**Darn you reviewers! You aren't supposed to be THAT good at guessing who the mystery person was. Well, I suppose it was kind of obvious. Thankfully, this falls under Drama/Suspense, and not Mystery. :P**

**And now...the person whom you all know...**

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Him.

H. I. M. Him.

It couldn't. It mustn't. It wasn't.

It was.

_No! _Mario thought. _No, please, no! I don't need him here! I never asked for this! Oh, I even prayed that he wouldn't come! Why! Why did he have to be here? It would have been such a nice vacation without the world's worst attempts at impersonating Sherlock Holmes, with the hat and the occasional pipe. He was, after all, the worst detective ever._

"So Luigi," Pennington resumed, "what brings you here this fine day on this glorious engine?"

Mario shrugged. "Ahem, the name is Mario..."

"It's a wicked thing to tell fibs," _Oh brother. Here we go. God save us._

"No, really...I'm not Luigi. 'Luigi', my younger brother, is on this train. He, me, oh, and the princess, are going to take a well deserved break over in PoshleyHeights." Mario responded, hesitating word after word. Pennington simply shook his head.

"My upmost apologies. It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement." _What does that even have to do with anything?_

"Ah, well. I hope you enjoy this 'vacation' of yours. I have other business to attend to. Oh, yes. You know my methods." _And the award for worst quoter of all time: PENNINGTON!...if that's even his real name..._ "I shall see you around, then." With that being said, he waved and walked into the nearest cabin. Unfortunately for him, it happened to be Room _12_.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The 'detective' rushed back out for air as he excused himself from the plumber. He did, after all, have other business to attend to...

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**A.N.: Why do I have an author's note in the middle of the chapter? Because, I just wanted to warn you that this story is not all revolved around Mario, so don't be surprised when you see content involving other passengers. Okay bye!**

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The train bustled by scenic views on its journey. Toadette had her nose pressed against the window as she gazed out, looking at the blurs of trees, meadows, cattle, and the occasional UFO. Or was that Jr. Troopa?

Her roomate, Peach, was setting out all of her dresses on the sofa, trying to decide what she should wear that evening at dinner. The pink one...no, the pink one...perhaps the pink one?

"Toadette, I need to ask you a question." Peach asked as Toadette got up from the window sill. "It's a dire situation. You see, I don't know which of these dresses to wear tonight. I am a princess, after all, so I have to look appealing." Toadette rolled her eyes as Peach continued.

"I cannot decide. They all beg for me to choose them! I mean, this one says 'I'm passionate about you, baby!', but then this one says 'Don't worry; I don't bite', and then this one looks at me like 'May I assist you, kind sir'."

"And this one says 'What the heck is the difference between these dresses?'" Toadette commented, pointing to herself. Peach nodded.

"You're very right. I ought to wear this pink one." she said, making a mental note to herself. Toadette finally had it.

"I'm gonna go check out the train," she rushed, hopping down off the couch and to the door. Peach called back after her.

"Well be sure to come back! You have to help me decide breakfast!"

_Sure, sister..._Toadette thought as she closed her compartment. It felt like a dream being on such an exquisite locomotive. The wallpaper...the lights...the furniture and decor...Toadsworth?

The humble steward caught sight of her and quickly snapped. "Just what are you doing, loafing about?"

"Um, nothing, Mr. Toadsworth. I was going to go check out the new snack bar at the, um, dining car," she hesitated. Toadsworth stared at her for a moment, then let her run off. Toadette couldn't help but feel something wasn't quite right...

_Hopefully I won't be THAT cranky when I get to such an age._

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As the Express continued along it's journey, the Waitress rang the intercom signalling passengers that lunch would be ready and to come to the dining car. It immediately filled with hungry passengers, making the Waitress wish even more that she had an assistant.

Daisy briskly opened the door of the car and went to go take a seat near Toad, Dixie, and D.K. Luigi, who was speculating the neat (and expensive) items in the shop, took note of her presence. Panic was painted and put on display all over his face, worrying that she might see him. Talk about self-esteem issues. Luigi nearly wet himself and, not knowing what to do, he swan-dived over the counter, crashing into the spare stock. Everyone in the car stopped for a second and peeked inside the Stall, including Daisy, who 'luckily' didn't see him, as the poor Noki woman inside darted out. Luigi's panicky face now changed to bright red. Oh well. No one knew who did it.

Except the very Sales Stall owner.

"Excuse me sir?" he questioned rudely as Luigi glanced up.

"Oh...you see...I was...a reason...yes, I have a reason I assure you!"

"Well, could you get your germs off the spare Super Shrooms? Great, now I have to replace the stock...which you'll be paying for!"

"IT WAS A GIRL WHO I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ACT AROUND SINCE SHE'S SO TOMBOYISH AND HOT PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!!" Luigi cried, crawling into a hole.

"I hear you." Luigi's face now showed symptoms of shock.

"You...do?"

"Yeah. But please, can you get off the Shrooms first?" the manager exclaimed as Luigi brushed himself off after the fall.

"I've been trying to woo that waitress over there. But she never seems to know I exist since I'm always here behind the glass. Four years I've been trying to impress her."

"FOUR YEARS? DANG!" Luigi yelled, deafening all in the dining car. The green cad ducked once again.

"Is that really necessary?" the manager asked as Luigi began speaking in whisper.

"Sorry."

"Yeah. If only I could find a way to tell her how I feel..."

In an instant, Luigi darted out the door, stealthily moving along the car toward where the waitress was taking an order. That's when he said, not in his indoor voice:

"HEY! THAT SALES STALL GUY IS INTERESTED IN YOU! Oh, hi Daisy..."

Once again, all eyes were toward him. The waitress was obviously flabbergasted, not knowing what to do. She glared at Luigi, then the stall owner, who was just as embarrassed. Daisy looked at Luigi and simply waved. Luigi waved back, now the biggest shade of red ever witnessed as he ran back to the stall. The manager, however, locked it before he could get in.

_Someday I'll do something right..._

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Soon Mario joined the other passengers for the first meal on board. He opened a menu, but his thoughts were flooding about Pennington rather than the delectable sushi special.

Why is it that he simply showed up out of nowhere? Why did he leave the sanctum in Poshley Heights? Who was that poor passenger who missed the train? All cabins were full, except for 4, where Ghost T. is...which means that would be where the Paratroopa would have stayed. Wait, then how did Pennington get on? He can't possibly...

"SIR! What do you want for lunch today?" the waitress ordered as Mario snapped back into reality.

"Oh...um..."

"If you're not ordering anything, save me time, ok? I'm already the most embarrassed person on this entire train!"

He'd have to talk with his brother about people issues later.

"I'll have the Fire Flower Salad with Italian dressing then."

"We don't serve Italian here. Sorry."

"Um, then ranch will do."

"We're all out of ranch, I'm afraid."

"Here, I don't need dressing. I'll just have the salad, please."

"Which salad again?"

"The Fire Flower."

"Oh, Chef Shimi is out of the herb ingredients from Keelhaul Key. Can I get you anything else?"

"Fine, I'll have a Mega Lightning Burger or something!"

"What kind of cheese?"

"Cheddar?"

"The cheddar cheese went bad yesterday."

"WELL WHAT KIND OF CHEESE DO YOU HAVE?"

"No need to yell!"

"Sorry."

"..."

"..."

"...what was your question?"

"What...kind...of...cheese...do...you...have?"

"Swiss, Mozzarella, American, Blue..."

"Blue cheese on a burger? That's disgusting!"

"I just take orders sir, and if I may, yours is very time consuming!"

"Why do you have blue cheese?"

"It's the chef's favorite color."

"Blue cheese isn't even blue though!"

"What's your point?"

"MY POINT IS THAT ALL I DID WAS REALLY COME TO SIT DOWN AND THINK SOME THINGS OVER! I DO NOT CARE ABOUT SALAD OR BLUE CHEESE OR ANYTHING! IS IT REALLY HARD TO JUST GIVE ME SOME DANG FOOD OR SOMETHING?"

Gasp.

This was definitely an interesting train ride.

And when some outburst occurs, you can guarantee everyone will stare at you.

The dining car sure did have a lot of action today.

Considering the fact that everyone had only been on the train for an hour.

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Pennington opened the door of another car as he skimmed through, sweat dropping several times.

_If her royalty is taking a trip, then by surely he's here to. Oh, Sherlock Holmes would be so proud of my sleuthing!_

He speculated the doors of the car, silently cursing to himself that the conductors now decided on room keys to your cabins. Surely he had been here.

Suddenly, one of the cabins opened. Pennington ducked behind the wall, but sighed in relief when it was only the little family of Goombas. He smiled at the young girl, who simply beamed. Her parents hurried her along into the next car over, which ended up being the dining car. When he knew they were clearly out of sight, Pennington resumed his search, and left for another car.

Milliseconds after he disappeared, Toad and Toadsworth waltzed out of Cabin 8 and knocked on Peach's door. She came out, wearing a fresh, clean dress (which you couldn't really tell since they all looked the exact same) Peach smiled, and her humble fungus escorted her to the dining car.

Trumpets practically blared when she entered. Everyone stopped wolfing down their lunch to pause and bow to her highness. Daisy rolled her eyes as he continued her taco.

"Um, something the matter?" Dixie asked as Daisy merely shrugged.

"No. That's just what she does: having every single citizen in her royal universe worship thee."

"Well, she is the princess..."

"Well, I am her cousin..."

"Well..."

"Swell."

And with that, Daisy grinned as she excused herself to her room. Dixie let out a heavy sigh and glanced at the others at her table.

"Why do you think she's so upset about her cousin?"

Yoshi and D.K. paid no heed to her as they continued their delish banana cream pies. Dixie got up from her seat, and standing behind them, snapped and shoved their faces into their dessert. Passengers gasped (again) as Dixie rubbed her hands and sat back down. Two faces covered with fruit and crust glared at her. Dixie resumed.

"Why do you think she's so upset about her cousin?"

"Possibly the same way I'm upset with you right now." D.K. scowled. Yoshi licked off the cream and got up from the table. Dixie murmured something about rabies and left as well, leaving a lonesome rabid ape.

"Well what are you looking at?"

* * *

Luigi heaved himself onto the top bunk of cabin 13. He watched as scenic cliffs zoomed by the window. He silently prayed he could be like them right now.

_What am I meant to do in this world? Surely not anything with people like Daisy. It's like the L on my cap stands for 'loser' or something. If only I could manage to find a way to show her my feelings for her..._

"Good heavens! What good does it do to have luggage in a place where your passengers cannot reach them?"

Luigi snapped out of his thoughts and pressed his ear against the door.

"I am sorry, but I cannot just let you in the luggage car."

"But I simply MUST have my necklace! I'm not the world's...well, I already AM the world's greatest fashionette diva...but I implore you, that necklace ties the ribbon on top of this beauty."

"Well, I'm aloud to go and look for it..."

"NONSENSE! What kind of service is this? Rummaging through other people's precious belongings? Hoo! I ought to blow you right off this train! Service was much better SIX YEARS AGO!"

"Mam, is there a problem here?"

"Oh, Doopl...I mean, conductor, could you allow me to get my darling necklace from my baggage which this man certainly has extra of because he WILL NOT LET OTHERS GET THINGS FROM THEIR STUPID...well, my fabulous...LUGGAGE BECAUSE HE CANNOT ALLOW THEM TO GET THEIR STUFF?!?"

"Certainly miss. You sir, ought to be punished for not letting this poor passenger get her desired things."

"You don't look all that familiar, sir. Are you really the other conductor? Oh, never mind. Let her in. I mean, it's not like your some disguised person or something!"

Gasp.

Luigi had the greatest idea on how to get a date and tell her feelings:

Doopliss.

* * *

Mario had finished his meal a while ago, not hungry due to the fact of Pennington. Something was definitely fishy with him. Like always, but he had to find out.

"Mario! You must join me for dinner!"

He turned to look at Peach, who was motioning for him to join her. But she said dinner...

"Oh, lunch! I'm sorry, I'm just really frustrated."

Mario knew he was going to have to hear the princess out through whatever stress she might be going through. He pulled up a chair and glanced at his watch.

"You see, Toadette...I do not know, but she seemed rather ill earlier. I was trying to decide on my attire this evening, and she..."

**An hour later...or at least it seemed like it.**

"...told me that my hair would look good with a perm. The nerve of some hair stylists! Mario?"

Mario jolted back into the real world, apologizing for 'slightly' trailing off. He looked at his watch again.

One minute had passed by.

"Peach...I'm...I'm sorry, but right now I have to go care to some other things, which are as important as Toadette's sickness of elephants who looked like running into street poles that got perms for their hair." Peach looked dumbstruck.

"That's not what I was talking about..." she mumbled. Then she sighed and got up from the table. She showed a small smiled and then placed her arms around the plumber.

"I'm sure whatever you have to do is just as important. I just know that you can always save me in whatever time may come. I trust you in everything you do for me."

Deep.

Mario smiled as well and excused himself to leave. Peach looked back at him, but was stopped by Toadsworth who grumbled about how stereotypical something was and that her highness should learn otherwise.

Mario closed the door over, and plopped down, his back against the material.

_What am I even worrying about him for? I always do this. It's a vacation, for crying out loud! I'm sure the princess had something important to tell me._

And with that, he returned to the dining car meeting up with a beaming Peach.

And of course.

Just as Pennington entered the car he left.

* * *

"...and then I become a shadow and you can go ask her on a date. Is it a deal?"

The duplighost had an odd expression as Luigi explained the details of his plan. "Whatever dude. I have to get back to my colleague, a.k.a., drama cloud. What's in it for me though?"

Luigi figured that was coming and began rummaging through his pockets, pulling out gum wrappers and wads of paper and erasers and a Daisy sticker and a popcorn kernel and a free waffle at a pancake house and a peach pit and...

"Aha! How about this? You're an actor, right? A ticket to a play, that's said to be the ABSOLUTE BEST!"

Doopliss made a funny face. "You know, you're right! It is the absolute best! Called Paper Mario, right? Yeah, gimme a ticket to a play that I end up acting in and you don't even end up going to? Ha!" With that he ripped up the ticket and threw it in Luigi's face. "Got anything better?"

"Um, a free waffle?"

"Whatever."

"Yes! Okay, so you just clone me with some creepy device grid thing, andI end up turning into a purple shadow and you do the rest. Okay?"

Doopliss had already converted himself into an almost perfect copy of Luigi. A purple figure stood beside him. His name was...was...

"Holy cow! Dude, you need to get some serious help! What the heck is that smell?" If the no name had a face, it would be red. Doopliss made a peace sign and left Luigi outside his cabin.

No one knew what the heck a purple glob was doing in the middle of the hallway.

**Five minutes later...**

A small crowd had gathered around the thing as Luigi returned from talking to Daisy. Immediately he transformed back, and the purple ended up as Luigi.

"OH MAN! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? I WAS ABOUT TO WET MY PANTS THAT YOU WEREN'T COMING BACK!"

"Chill man! And thank God I'm out of those clothes! How can you live with _that_?"

"What's _that_?"

"You know, _that_!"

"..."

"Whatever. She said she'd be very much obliged to join you, bla bla bla, she wants to talk some things over, and it would be fun-"

"YES!" Luigi cheered as he darted out the car.

"-ny."

* * *

Something had happened in the dining car. No one knew what, but a large group had collected and fingers flew along with cabbage as everyone yelled over something. Chef Shimi left the small kitchen and gasped.

"What in good gravy is happening? What paused all this? GAH! CAUSED!"

Bombette spoke up. "Well, SOMEONE entered the car at Sonic speed, and tripped over me and stole my engagement ring!"

"WHAT? You HAVE that right on your braid!" the Noki exclaimed.

"WELL, SOMEONE PUT IT THERE!"

"YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE DUMBEST ARGUMENT IN ALL OF HISTORY!" Bamma yelled.

"DUMB ARGUMENT, MY HAMMER!" Hamma put out there.

"Good heavens! Princess, what is going on?" Toadsworth asked concerningly.

"I...I don't know! There's just some big disagreement, and everyone's getting mad and everything!" Peach explained as best as she could.

"HEY! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" the Waitress erupted.

"OW! QUIT IT! QUIT IT!"

Mario was with Peach and Toadsworth, fully confused as to what was happening. Toadsworth broke the ice between them.

"Well, I daresay! Master Mario! You go find out what is happening with all this ruckus! The princess must not get a migrane!"

Suddenly, the doors of the dining car swung open as the Bumpty detective lifted his magnifying glass. But something overtook him that caused him to drop the Ultra Glassifyer 10000000, which hit the ground, breaking into several pieces of glass.

That something:

Him.

* * *

**A.N.: If you thought that chapter was random and bizarre, sorry. Things should play out later on in the story.**

**Again, sorry for such an everlasting wait! But I'm back on track, so you can still read and enjoy this story!**

**I put out a new poll! Go check it out and vote on who you think is going to hold everyone hostage on board. There's some surprise behind all that, too. Just wait and find out!**

**And the humor...don't expect there to be a whole lot in future chapters. The mood isn't in stress and terror right now, so I like to throw in a bit of comedy. But future chapters, especially after the epic next one, should have more drama and suspense.**

**And once again...thankfully this isn't mystery!**


	4. Secretive Moves

**In some ways, I regret writing this story. When I first joined the site, I was so ecstatic that I wanted to get SOME sort of fic out there, and this was the product of under an hour.**

**But, that doesn't mean I don't like this story. :D In fact, I've finally figured out the entire plot (which probably would have been a good idea to do before even considering writing it), so I have tons more motivation to work on it. And with school out, tons more time, too. So hopefully, updates on this can become at least more of a monthly deal.**

**Especially since I'd appreciate people to stop pestering me that the fourth chapter of Three Long Days took 'Fifteen Long Months' to complete. :P**

* * *

Just a few hours before, a Toad in his mid-twenties was polishing the exterior of the Excess Express. As normal, it was a Monday, meaning the locomotive would take it's three day voyage over to the extravagent metropolitan district of Poshley Heights. After arriving in Poshley Heights in the afternoon on Wednesday, the train would depart late Thursday morning on it's trek to the discrete Rogueport, coming to the station Saturday evening. Thus was the time for him to come up and give a good inspection so that come Monday it could set out again on it's repetitive journey to and from Poshley Heights. It could be a brutal job, minimum wage, long hours, and the thick coal cloud when the train came in and out. He did it for his girlfriend, though. He could barely afford to pay the rent for his small apartment complex, and inspecting wasn't exactly the best work. Sure, he'd often work at the Trouble Center, completing out tasks either to take his girlfriend someplace nice or to catch up in the bar with a couple of friends, swigging down a nice Chuckola Cola or two. This was just some ordinary day, boring and broke.

His luck soon changed when a frantic bystander paced nervously along the railing.

"Uh...you okay brother?" He asked as the pacer jumped.

"Oh, yeah, fine. Swell. Super. Say, where can I get a ticket for the Excess Express?"

"Sorry dude. They come from the Don, and you have to order one months ahead of time. You can always catch a plane to the Heights, course in this city..."

"Um, that won't do. You see, a very dear colleague of mine is heading to Poshley Heights and I have to have an important business chat with him. You know, uh, launch a big deal, campaigining, big G's..."

"I see...got any available job offers?"

"Whatever, I just need to speak with him. Now where can I get a ticket?"

"Look, no can do. Maybe you'll have to talk with him some other time..."

The bystander nodded, displaying a small frown until an idea came to him. "So...you work in the train industry, or whatever it's called. Not very much income, I take?"

"Yeah..." the worker sighed. "Times are rough, I guess..."

"How much do you want to get me on board?" With that, the person pulled out a wallet. The Toad's eyes glowed in reflection to all the gleaming coins. "For a youngster like you...fifty? Seventy? Hundred? Go for two hundred?"

"And...th-my...it..." the Toad stuttered, his eyes never leaving the coins. "Well, there's no way I can get you a ticket, but I can get you on board. You could stay in the luggage car. There's a comfy cart, don't ask."

"Two hundred. Done." The soon-to-be passenger pulled out a few coins and put them into the Toad's hand.

"Of course, I could steal someone's ticket for five hundred-"

"Don't bet on it."

The Toad nodded slyly before checking if the coast was clear. When he was sure no one was looking, he lifted up a window and quickly urged his buyer inside. He then shut it back down as the 'passenger' brushed himself off and exited the room, bidding farewell to his helper.

With that Pennington had made it on to the Excess Express, and his motives were not for a business deal.

* * *

**Present time again.**

"Settle down, people! Settle down!" Mario informed as he used his hands to calm the wild crowd. "Now someone please explain, gently, what's going on here!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON MY HAMMER!"

"OH GET A GRIP OF YOURSELF HAMMA!"

Riot soon broke out again as Mario squeezed his forehead in angst. The train had been going for two hours now, and suddenly everything's just...Mario used his peripherals to see the vibrating figure at four o'clock. Oh brother...

"Luigi? What the heck is going on?"

Luigi sweatdropped. "W-w-well...'-"

"Mamma mia, speak English!"

"...I. Hired. Doopliss. To. Clone. As. Me. So. He. Could. Find. A. Way. To. Get. Me. A. Date. With. Daisy. Which I've been wating to do for practially all eternity since she is just so awesome and where the heck was I and I ran out into this car in excitement and I tripped over Bombette and now she claims to have lost her ring and I just found in my pocket the ACTUAL ring and if I give it back to her she'll claim that I stole it and I'll get sent to prison and I DON'T NEED THAT KIND OF TRAUMA IN MY LIFE!"

Everyone and everything in the car seemed to pause for a moment and turn to face the hyperventilating plumber. Again.

"...my brother saw a spider," Mario ad-libbed. "Resume." Passengers nodded awkwardly as they continued to spout fumes over the missing ring. Luigi glared at his brother and sent him a measly punch to his leg, all the while avoiding a spider crawling up the wall. Mario groaned and sent Luigi escalating upward. He snatched the ring from Luigi's fingers and threw it into the mashpile of passengers. The poor Noki woman fell to the ground as a sharp 14-carat ring hit her in the back of the neck.

"Oh looky! It's my ring!"

"MY RING MY HAMMER!"

Mario casually leaned back against the table. Luigi sulked as he gathered himself together and headed back to his room. Mario didn't care. He had other thoughts on his mind.

Like why Pennington was cleaning up glass shards from his magnifying glass and hurrying into the next car.

* * *

Pennington couldn't help BUT to run at that very moment. He was there. Nearly a year in excavation slaying over this unanswered case and he'd found his number one suspect.

Of course, there really wasn't incredible proof to succumb that it was definitely him, but in the possibility of incredible danger, that wasn't the crucial detail.

The Bumpty scuffled along the passage into another car. On his way in, he tripped over the step, spewing documents from his handy dandy detective briefcase. Blasphemy. He quickly hurried to pick up the sheets and file them randomly back inside. The zipper apparently wasn't alligning with him as it jammed and wouldn't close the case. Pennington cursed something under his breath as he nearly broke into a sprint to reach his corridors. Unfortunately for him, that was the exact time 'Luigi' bustled through the doors.

"Pennington, as someone who you were able to call your assistant several years ago, I do believe I have the right to question why you were in such a rush to leave?"

The detective started to perspire unusually. "Well, I...don't know what you're talking-"

"It just seems a bit weird that in such a commotion something caused you to drop your valuable tool and run away from the scene."

Pennington bit his lip. _Luigi isn't as half-bad a detective as I used to think he was. At least Psyche-Locks are fictional._ "I'm just the kind of person that doesn't tolerate sudden noise bursts, that's all. I'm just heading to my room to take a Tylenol or two for my headache."

Mario scoffed. "A likely story. Where even IS your room?"

"Maybe four..."

"Where?"

"LOTS of Tylenol..."

"Answer the question, Pennington."

"Now just hold up a minute, Luigi. Why are you interrogating me so abrasively? I'm telling you the truth!"

Backing off for a moment, Mario nodded and looked around the car. He studied the design of the room numbers hanging above the doors. The number 9 looked interesting enough.

"Ah yes. Of course. Your room. How could I be so forgetful. So, tell me about your apparent relationship with your Noki lover?"

Pennington seemed appalled. "What on earth-"

"Or perhaps something clicked between you and the princess of Sarasaland and you're rooming with Daisy right here. The real Luigi would be TERRIBLY disappointed."

"I can assure you-"

"Face it, Pennington. You didn't leave to your room, unless you're with Daisy, Yoshi, or a Noki woman. Or are you wishing the new couple, Kooper and Bombette, good tidings by living in room 10? And as far as I can recall, my ticket says I'm in Room 13 with my brother, not you."

_...doggone it, all this kid is asking for is trouble and a truckload full of it._

"Okay, I confess," Pennington admitted, throwing his hands in the air. "But if I can recall, my legal rights allow me to remain silent on the subject." With that, Pennington resumed picking up business papers, stuffing them into his briefcase. "Departure time, my friend. See you around, then?"

Mario reached out and grabbed Pennington by the shoulder. "Pennington, please. What are you hiding from me?"

The Bumpty held his breath as he looked around the rest of the car. Empty. He exhaled and began to whisper in Mario's ear.

"You were having a date with the Princess, right? Good, good...I cannot tell you much. At least, not right now. All I can say is, keep her close to you as much as you can. Just do it."

Mario stumbled backwards against the wall at Pennington's statement. He tried to respond, but his words were locked inside his throat. Pennington gave him a serious stare before saluting and exiting the car. Mario blinked rapidly and regained his focus. Something was off, but he couldn't tell what. Trying to remove Pennington's words from his brain, he continued back towards the dining car in hopes that he could resume his lunch with Peach.

Just as he was about to leave, a light bulb went off in Mario's brain.

_Pennington isn't on this side of the dining car...which means he has to be staying on the other side. All the other rooms are taken except for Room 4, which houses Ghost T._

_Wait a sec...what happened was that again earlier..._

* * *

___"ALL ABOARD!"_

"Wait! Don't leave yet! I have my ticket! Stop, STOP!"

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, short chapter. Boo. I had to end it here because it's yet another cliffhanger. :P**

**But seriously, just because the chapter ended doesn't mean another one might come up pretty soon. In fact, this is one time I'm willing to be another chapter actually WILL come up soon.**

**...as soon as write it.**

**Anyways, please review! Hopefully I'll see you with Chapter Five!**


	5. Flashback

Princess Peach let out a gentle sigh as she waited in her dining chair. So far, the lunch had gone horribly: a random outburst in the middle, and Mario seeming like he constantly wanted to get away. She couldn't help but feel the need to take responsibility for everything.

Her fingers clutched the sapphire brooch she always pinned to her dress. A small smile formed as she continued treasuring it.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" Peach was startled as Daisy plopped herself in Mario's seat for a second. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Just...thinking."

Daisy smirked. "So, you actually do think? Never would have guessed." Peach rolled her eyes as Daisy laughed sarcastically.

"Seriously though. Everything okay?"

"Yeah...I don't know. I just...I just feel like I'm ruining this date. Practically every two seconds, Mario excuses himself politely and leaves the dining car. I don't know Daisy...I don't want to ruin this, even if it's just lunch."

Daisy tried smiling a little bit, but was unsuccessful. "Sorry, but I'm not really sure what advice to give. If anything, I feel like I should be the one asking YOU for tips on my date with Luigi this evening. You're the princess, for crying out loud! Everyone in the kingdom loves and respects you, ever since you were just a little girl. Don't think for a second that Mario's leaving has anything to do with you, because I'm positive it doesn't. You have...everything...great."

Peach appeared to brighten up a little bit as Daisy slumped in her chair. Her eyes noticed Peach's hands grasping her brooch. "Are you keeping that safe from salad stains or something?"

"Oh, no. I'm just thinking about something, that's all..." Peach stuttered, regaining control of reality again. Her cousin nodded and headed back to her room. Seeing that Mario still hadn't returned yet, Peach sighed and started retracking her flashback.

* * *

_"Happy Birthday dear Peachie! Happy Birthday to you!"_

_Everybody cheered as the newly 5-year old Peach successfully blew out her candles. Her father beamed with pride at his little girl. He readjusted the crown on his head as he hugged his wife, the Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom. _

_"Look at how big she's getting! Imagine, she'll someday be the future queen!" A teardrop ran down the Queen's cheek, watching her young daughter filled with joy._

_After all the guests left, Peach climbed into her daddy's lap by the fireplace, like she'd do every night. He would always tell her a story, causing her to drift out of consciousness. Then, he would carry her back upstairs, tuck her into bed, and kiss her on the forehead. Tonight was no different._

_"I'm going to be all grown-up now that I'm five years-old!" Peach beamed, blushing as her father chuckled._

_"You certainly are becoming such a big girl. Soon, I won't be able to hold you on my lap anymore."_

_"Tell me a story, daddy! Please?"_

_"No stories tonight I'm afraid."_

_"Aw...why not? Is something wrong?"_

_Her father placed her on the carpet gently before heading to the bookcase behind him. He pushed aside a dictionary and pulled out a small blue box. Peach squealed with joy as her father handed it to her._

_"Happy birthday, sweetheart. Wear this all the time, even when you're all grown up, so you can remember me."_

_Peach unlocked the miniature compartment to discover a sapphire brooch, glistening in the fire's light. She was immediately captivated by it's precious gleaming. "It's...so...pretty...thank you daddy..." She never finished her sentence, as she fell asleep. Her father scooped the young princess up into his arms as he tiptoed up the flight of stairs. He laid her down in the bed, kissed her on the cheek, and left._

_"Good night, my princess. May you always be with me," he whispered, shutting off the light._

* * *

_Something woke the birthday girl in the middle of the night. She thought she had heard it coming from down the hall. It sounded almost like a firework had gone off. Checking to see if the coast was clear, she sprang out of bed and snuck down the hallway. Something seemed...peculiar._

_"...Daddy?"_

_Peach crept closer and closer towards her father's bedroom. Everything was...silent. Suddenly, she heard something knock over, along with footsteps._

_"...Daddy?"_

_She reached the door. Unfortunately, the peephole was too high for her to peek through, but the door was cracked a little bit to reveal a figure in what seemed to be royal pajamas slumped over on the bed. She assumed it was her father, but she couldn't understand why he wasn't snoring like he typically did when he was asleep, or why his chest wasn't rising, or what the dark fluid spread across the sheets was. Peach popped the door open a little bit to see lightning strike outside the window. Heading straight for her father, she paused to see a hole in his temple._

_"...Daddy?"_

_Those were the last words she heard before something heavy knocked her over. _

* * *

_When she woke up, several Toads were surrounding her, taking photographs of the scene. Everyone in the castle was in a panic, shouting in horror and despair. Peach pulled herself together before tapping a policewoman on the shoulder._

_"Where's my mommy?"_

_"I'm afraid she's not here right now. We don't exactly know where she is."_

_"Well, where's my daddy?"_

_A tear ran down the Toadette's cheek. "He's dead."_

* * *

"Peach?"

The princess recollected herself as Mario returned to the table. "Yes? Sorry, I was...just looking at the menu!" she fibbed. "The Cherry Shroom Pie looks delicious, doesn't it?" Mario smiled weakly as he sat back down in his chair. Neither one of them spoke for the rest of the meal. Both had way too much on their minds.

* * *

**Darn short chapters! :P Gah, sorry, I wanted to make this one a lot longer, but I just couldn't find a good way to continue from there without starting a new one. Now that I think about it, this chapter would have been better had it been squeezed with the last one. Shucks.**

**On the bright side, I'm working on stories at a much quicker pace, so maybe another (longer, more extensive) update will come later this week. Anyways, I appreciate reviews! And let me know who you think the hostage-holder will be! That part could be just a few chapters away. O.O**


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